Winter Is Raging in Northern Vermont While the Western Ski Resorts Lag Behind

In ski country, a tale of two seasons is playing out.

At ski resorts out West, there have been opening day delays caused by mild weather. Meanwhile, in the Northeast, winter is making a forceful entrance. 

Over the past week, Jay Peak, Vermont, has tallied several feet of snow, prompting the resort to open early this coming weekend. Its season total is sitting at a whopping 68 inches. It’s only mid-November, in case you needed a reminder.

“We are not easing into winter, we are nosediving straight into the thick of it,” Jay Peak wrote in its snow report.

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Unsurprisingly, droves of skiers have hit Jay Peak to score some human-powered early-season turns before the lifts start spinning.

That’s caused some problems, though, as a few members of the crowd have behaved poorly. In a statement published this morning, Jay Peak’s general manager urged skiers to “pay attention to our uphill policies.”

According to the resort, there have been two lift shack break-ins, two fires, and one season-ending injury on its slopes recently. Powder panic is real, people. 

At Stowe, Vermont, November has also proved fruitful (hopefully without any accompanying funny business). The mountain just tallied another ten inches of fresh snow.

Here’s a visual explanation:

Watch: Stowe, VT Snowfall Timelapse, Nov 16-17, 2025

Stowe is sitting at 44 inches so far, which should bode well for its upcoming planned opening on November 22, 2025. 

Further south, at Killington, the ski season is already underway. The mountain kicked off the season last week and is already offering top-to-bottom skiing. Three lifts are open there today, as are 22 trails. 

“Winter’s putting in work, and so is The Beast,” Killington wrote in its snow report today. “We picked up 3 inches of fresh snow overnight, adding a little extra cushion to the trails and keeping that early-season stoke going strong.”

It’s a marked contrast with the current ski scene in Western states. Mammoth Mountain, California, was forced to delay its opening day last weekend when a storm didn’t produce as much snow as hoped. In Utah, two mountains, Solitude and Brian Head, pushed back their opening dates amidst warm weather. So did Schweitzer Mountain, in Idaho. 

A comeback could be underway, though. At Brian Head, there’s now top-to-bottom coverage, per the ski resort’s webcams, with more snow in the forecast. And the storm that hit California last week has gone cold, delivering snow to Mammoth Mountain, where snowmaking is underway. Plus, a rough start doesn’t necessarily have any bearing on the season to come.

Our advice if you’re a Westerner? Throw a few snow dances into the daily routine.

Related: How Many Days Do You Ski Each Season? We Asked 10,000 Skiers